Latest news with #U.S.CourtofFederalClaims
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Litigation results in payments for southeast SD landowners along rail-to-trail route
Scenes from the old Napa-to-Platte rail line. (Courtesy of Friends of the Tabor to Platte Rail to Trail). Seven landowners in Bon Homme and Charles Mix counties will receive a total of nearly $128,000 from the federal government after the U.S. Court of Federal Claims found their land was taken without compensation to make way for a proposed hiking and biking trail. The ruling stems from a claim for compensation filed under the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause, which requires just compensation when private property is taken for public use, a process known as eminent domain. Attorneys from the St. Louis firm Lewis Rice represented the landowners. 'If the government takes 10 feet or 10 acres, you should be rightly compensated,' said attorney Meghan Largent. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX At issue is a 24-mile stretch of former railroad corridor between Tyndall and Ravinia in southeast South Dakota. On Aug. 18, 2023, the federal Surface Transportation Board issued a notice allowing the removal of the tracks and conversion of the corridor into a public trail. The stretch is part of a larger proposed rail-to-trail project, converting a 75-mile portion of the old Napa-to-Platte rail line to a trail from Tabor to Platte. A spokesperson with the transportation board declined to comment. Some sections of the rail-to-trail land are owned by the state. However, Largent said some sections within the 24-mile stretch are under easements, which are agreements allowing the crossing of someone else's land. She successfully argued that the purpose of the easement can't be changed without just compensation to the landowners. She said the $128,000 will be paid out of a federal judgment fund, and efforts to create the trail will continue regardless of the lawsuits. Robert Foley is with Friends of the Tabor to Platte Rail to Trail. 'No, it doesn't really doesn't impact the project,' he said. Foley said the project is moving forward. He said the group is raising its final $5,000 of funding for a $250,000 feasibility study. He said the study should be completed by late fall. Largent said her analysis shows another 120 landowners along the corridor qualify for compensation. They have until Aug. 18, 2029, to file a claim. The firm is already pursuing two more cases.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Yahoo
Judge dismisses $400M PFAS claim filed by New Mexico landowners
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed in August by almost 30 New Mexico landowners over PFAS contamination. The Curry County property owners, who live near Cannon Air Force Base, allege the U.S. Department of Defense contaminated their properties by using firefighting foams containing substances known as "forever chemicals" — which amounted to a "taking" of their property by the federal government without sufficient compensation. Aqueous film-forming foam, a firefighting foam that contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, was used at Cannon Air Force Base for decades, according to the lawsuit. PFAS was discovered both on the base and in surrounding areas in 2018. A local dairy farmer, Art Schaap, had to euthanize thousands of cows on his farm as a result of the plume of contamination. Schaap was a plaintiff in the case. U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Armando Bonilla wrote in an order the claims of several plaintiffs were "unripe." "While these plaintiffs have been alerted to the possibility of serious PFAS contamination on their property — and have been working diligently to determine the extent of that contamination and hold the Government accountable for its contribution — they have not yet been able to confirm the extent of the contamination through complete groundwater and soil testing," Bonilla wrote. Furthermore, the judge wrote, there wasn't sufficient evidence the Air Force intended to spread contamination or was required to dispose of PFAS in any particular way — at the time of use, the chemicals had not been deemed hazardous. A bill passed this year by the New Mexico Legislature includes PFAS under the state's hazardous waste definition.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Feds could owe Indianapolis residents on west side for proposed rail-to-trail conversion
A city proposal to convert an abandoned CSX line on the west side to a recreational trial could bring a federal payday to owners of property adjacent to the old rail easement. Lawyers from Missouri-based Lewis Rice filed a suit in January in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims contending the federal government owes landowners for property along a 1.8-mile former CSX railroad. CSX abandoned the rail line that runs parallel to Kentucky Avenue between South Harding and West Raymond streets, according to documents the company filed with the Surface Transportation Board in October. Trains that once ran along the line have been rerouted and the rails haven't been used for more than two years. The City of Indianapolis in December requested to convert the entire abandoned rail line to a recreational trail, according to federal documents, and CSX agreed to negotiate an agreement with the city. The transportation board has given the pair a year to come up with an agreement. Lindsay Brinton, an attorney with Lewis Rice's Federal Takings and Rails to Trails practice, said once the tracks are no longer in use, adjacent landowners can declare ownership of the property previously used by CSX. The conversion from a rail line to recreational trail creates a new easement on the property, which means the federal government owes affected landowners the value of any land taken for the trail. Central Indiana residents similarly affected by the Nickel Plate Trail conversion were awarded money last year for their property rights. More: Work begins on $11M pedestrian bridge project linking Monon, Nickel Plate trails Indiana has converted 580 miles of former rail lines into recreational trails with the potential to convert another 342 miles, according to the Rails to Trails Conservancy. The Monon, which runs about 27 miles through Marion and Hamilton counties, was previously one of the early railways that helped Indianapolis grow into the city it is today. One of the longest stretches of these rail conversions will combine nine trails and connect Richmond in the east to the Chicago metro area when complete. It will be part of the Great American Rail-Trail that runs from Pennsylvania to Washington state. Repurposing the old rail is a form of eminent domain, and there's nothing a landowner can do to stop it, Briton explained. 'This is a valid exercise of the federal government's power," she said, "but landowners have a right to be paid for that taking.' Two plaintiffs have been named in the suit, but there are about 20 more landowners eligible to file a claim, Brinton said. Lewis Rice will host a meeting at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Hyatt Place Indianapolis Airport to explain how other landowners can be represented in the suit. Brinton and her colleagues at Lewis Rice previously worked on similar lawsuits in Indiana and expect the case to take about two years until landowners are paid. Landowners will have to prove they hold a title and valid claim to the property and then prove the government in liable for the taking. 'If landowners want to learn more, come to the meeting or call us,' Brinton said. 'We're happy to talk by phone or Zoom.' The firm will have paperwork at the Wednesday meeting for anyone who wants to join the suit. IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at Follow him on BlueSky @ This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: West side property owners may be due money for rail-to-trail conversion
